


I can see it

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-17 08:35:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20618108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: Put in a new situation, he needs her help.





	I can see it

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello!  
This fic was written out of a giveaway winner prompt, it has fluff and a little bit of humor  
Enjoy! <3

Claire walked out of the shower in the locker room, put on her clothes and was about to head home, when her phone buzzed. She saw Ethan’s name pop up on the screen and a wide grin grew on her face. They have been dating for the past eight months, and for the last two they were living together. The moment he asked her to move in revealed just how serious he was about her, and how nervous he was, how scared of her rejection he was. He stuttered, restarted his sentence three times until he got it right. She understood what he meant when he first started talking, but watching him topple over his own thoughts and words was a sight she didn’t see often, and it was amusing. A too good of an opportunity to miss. Afterwards, she just kissed him, nodding her head, before pulling him to her closer.

She opened the text message, not knowing what to expect, since he said himself that he hates texting. It was either his attempt to get better at it, or something was wrong. As it turned out, it seemed to be the later.

_“Dying. Panic. Disaster. Help.” _Was all the message said, and she felt her blood run cold. Gathering her things, she ran out, catching a taxi cab, trying to reach him through the phone, but the line was dead, going straight to the voice mail.

“Please, be okay. Please, please, please…” she chanted under her breath, her legs moving up and down rapidly, as though that action alone would make the car go faster. She threw money on the driver and ran out, stumbling over her feet as she opened the front door to the apartment complex. Her heart racing as she fumbled with her keys. The door flew open and she ran inside, shutting the door behind her.

“Ethan?! Where are you? Ethan! Where-“ she called out, running from room to room until standing in the door of the guest room. She spotted him, standing in the middle of the room. He turned around as he heard her, looking a little panicked. She trailed her eyes over his body, searching for any indication of his distress, but her gaze stopped at the small bundle in his arms. A blue blanket that hid his nephew, Eric, his sister’s son. Ethan let out a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

“Oh, thank god you’re here. I have no idea what would have happened if you didn’t come when you did.” He said, looking down at the baby that was fussing in his arms, his cries dying down with every moment that passed.

Something snapped in her as she understood the situation. Her bag fell from her grasp with an empty sound as it hit the floor.

“Wait… _that_ is the disaster you talked about? Are you kidding me? I thought you were hurt! Dead! I thought someone broke in and attacked you, Ethan!” she was breathing heavily, her eyes trained on him. She saw the color draining from his face as he understood how she read his message.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just lost, I’m not good at taking care of babies, I’m scared to do anything. And Thalia didn’t warn me that she would leave him with me today. I just got… overwhelmed.” He admitted quietly, looking at her with a scared flash in his eyes.

She approached him, smoothing the hair on the baby’s head softly before kissing Ethan’s forehead as she stood on her tiptoes. She then hugged him to her side as they both looked at little Eric in Ethan’s eyes.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. He is calm now. See? It’s all you, baby.” She whispered gently, turning to face him. He leaned in to kiss her hair, closing his eyes for a moment of peace.

“Come on, I’ll make you some tea and we’ll talk about your day. Maybe you’ll get him to fall asleep.” He murmured as he moved them towards the door.

\---- ---- ----

Eric didn’t fall asleep.

In fact, he was wide awake. Making loud noises as he was laying on the couch between Ethan and Claire, making it hard for them to talk. She smiled at the baby, only mildly distracted. On the other hand, Ethan wasn’t so thrilled, as he had no idea why his nephew was complaining or what to do to make him stop. He leaned forward, covering his face in his hands. Claire placed her hand on his back, rubbing slow circles in a calming manner.

“Are you okay? You’re incredibly tense.” She said quietly, watching his back rise and fall as he breathed.

“I just have no idea what is happening. I’ve never been good at this, I never had to take care of a baby on my own before. I’m scared I’m going to screw something up.” he whispered, avoiding her eyes.

“Ethan, you’re not alone. I’m right here, you do know that right? You’re not going to screw this up. And I personally think that our little buddy here is just hungry. Come on, we’ll get some food.” She picked Eric up, moving to the kitchen as she swayed from side to side, talking to the baby softly. Ethan watched her with a small smile on his lips, taking in how naturally it came to her to take care of his nephew.

She got some baby food ready and sat Eric down by her side as she fed him. Or, at least, she tried. Turns out that he was a little bit of a fussy eater, not that eager to eat at all. Ethan didn’t get why he was that way, muttering something about how the food couldn’t be that bad. It wasn’t his lucky day, because Claire heard him, and a smirk grew on her face.

“Oh yeah? If it’s not so bad, you wouldn’t mind trying it. Here, have a taste.” She extended the spoon towards him, trying her best not to laugh as he eyed the substance suspiciously. He took the utensil from her, rising it to his lips.

Claire watched in amusement as he ate the food paste, and laughed out loud when he started coughing, swearing under his breath as he spit it out into the garbage can, rinsing his mouth with water.

“That is- _utterly disgusting_.” He managed to say and Claire swore she could see a tear or two appear in his eyes.

“You don’t say… well, since Eric isn’t eating it either, I say we try something else. How about something to drink?” she said to herself, passing the bottle to the little boy, and he took it eagerly. Claire smiled contentedly, catching in the corner of her eye how Ethan watched her with a grin.

They sat down on the couch, focusing on the baby and some movie that was turned on, playing in the background, when the smell reached their noses. They didn’t need to guess or wonder what it was. Their eyes met and Claire could almost hear how he groaned in his head, or how loud his rolling eyes were.

“Oh, this is about to get good.” She laughed, pulling him up from the couch, picking up the baby. “Come on, I’ll help you, we’ll get through this together.”

They walked back into the guest room and got to work. Well, more like walking into the battlefield, because it was a disaster. Ethan fought but admitted defeat, and Claire quickly realized that trying to clean it up would be pointless.

“I say we give him a bath, it’ll be the easiest way out of the situation. I’ll start the water, you’ll carry him there when I call you both, okay?” she kissed his cheek quickly, disappearing behind the door.

He watched the place where she was only moments before, and then turned back to the baby. He was looking at him with big eyes, curiously watching his every move. They remained in that position for a while longer, until Claire’s voice rang through the walls, calling them both to the bathroom. He picked Eric up, and placed him into the water slowly when they were by the bathtub. Claire kneeled next to him, helping him wash his nephew, before standing up, drying her hands.

“You stay here and finish, I’ll go get started on dinner for us, okay?” she leaned down, kissing his forehead before walking out, not looking back. Ethan looked at the baby that was splashing water all around him. He was watching him with some sort of an expectant look in his eyes, and uncertainty settled in Ethan’s stomach.

Fifteen minutes later Claire moved towards the bathroom, her footsteps light as she approached the open door. She could hear Eric’s laughter and something else, a sound she couldn’t quite place. Once she reached the room, she leaned on the doorframe, taking in the sight in front of her.

Ethan made a hat and beard from foam on little boy’s head and face, and she couldn’t be sure until he turned around, but she was pretty sure he had a matching set himself. He tickled his nephew softly, causing them both to laugh as they played together. His muscles were relaxed, completely at ease. She called his name and he turned around, revealing that he indeed had a foamy beard and bubbles in his hair. Claire smiled at him and he blushed slightly, turning back to Eric.

“Dinner is ready, but I can wait if you two aren’t finished yet.” She teased, watching as little hands sent a wave of water doctor’s way, soaking the sleeve of his shirt almost completely. She expected him to be annoyed, but to her surprise, he just laughed, hauling the baby up and out of the water, wrapping him in a fluffy towel. They got him changed and dressed, back in the safety of his uncle’s arms, where with just a little swaying, he fell asleep.

Ethan looked down, not quite believing what just happened. He wasn’t about to start complaining, that much was clear, and so he put the baby on the bed, securing him with pillows around him so he didn’t fall off while he slept, dimming the lights and leaving the door open so they would hear if he woke up.

After dinner they were laying on the couch, Ethan running his hand up and down her back as they watched some meaningless show on TV. She breathed in deeply, snuggling closer to him, turning her head towards his neck, nuzzling his skin with her nose.

“Today got me thinking.” He started slowly, waiting to see if she wasn’t asleep. She hummed, turning in his arms more as a sign that she was listening. “Seeing you two today, how you interacted with Eric, how he reacted to you… I can see it, us doing this together someday.” He whispered, his voice getting smaller and smaller as he got closer to his confession. She leaned up and away from him to get a good look at his face, just to see if he wasn’t joking, but he seemed deadly serious. “I know that I may not be the best father, and I don’t have experience with kids, and I am horrible with them, but you are amazing, and you will be an outstanding mother. I want to give it to you. I want to give you a family someday, I want to share that with you.” he finished, and she could see the beginnings of doubts about what he said, he was about to backpedal on everything he said. She threw herself at him, kissing him until they were out of breath.

“I love you. And it’s because I love you, and I know that you love me, I also know that you will be an amazing father. Look at what you did with Eric today. That little guy is completely in love with his uncle. You are so good at interacting with children, you just don’t believe in yourself. You don’t give yourself much credit, and you should, because you deserve it. I want a family with you too, I’m happy we are on the same page, no matter when it happens.” She ended, grabbing his face in between her palms, kissing him softly before settling down again, closing her eyes, both of them falling asleep.

\---- ---- ----

Morning came too soon for both of them. They were taking turns, waking up to tend to Eric’s needs, though they were surprised that he woke up only twice. What woke them up in the early hours of the morning was the sound of knocking on the front door. Claire moved to open them, and there was Thalia, who smiled as she saw the redhead in the entrance.

“Claire! It’s so good to see you, I feel like we haven’t talked in forever!” she hugged the shorter woman tightly and she reciprocated the gesture.

“It’s good to see you too, Thalia. So, how was your evening?” Claire asked, her eyebrows shooting up suggestively. The other woman slapped her arm softly, laughing.

“How did you figure that out? And good, by the way.” She winked, looking into the apartment to see her brother, still laying on the couch, pretending not to hear them.

“I’m just connecting the dots.”

“And how are you two doing? Anything… _exciting_ going on?” she smirked suggestively at Claire and laughed when she saw her cheeks gaining some pink.

“We’re great, I’m so happy to have him by my side.” She smiled softly, looking back at him, noticing the same smile on his face.

“Well, I hope he’s treating you like a goddamn queen you are. After what he did to me when you guys were not together yet, he owes you and me that much.” Thalia exclaimed, fully intending for Ethan to hear.

“Wait, what? What did he do?”

“Oh, you know, the normal stuff. And by that I mean, sarcasm, duh. Constant texting “What should I do?” “What if she hates me?” “How do I say this, how do I say that?” and endless confessions “I love her.” “I need her.” “I want to be with her.” “I-“”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Ethan exclaimed, rushing to the two women, wrapping his arms around Claire, kissing her hair tenderly.

“Oh, would you look at that, you two are just the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. And I totally don’t plan what I’ll wear to your wedding as we speak. I also don’t have maid of honor speech ready. Nope, absolutely not.” She laughed, punching her brother’s arm playfully. Her expression turned serious as she looked into his eyes. “Man up! Propose already, I want that wedding!”

Claire laughed, Ethan blushed, and Thalia moved to gather her son and his things, leaving the pair alone for a moment. Claire moved to kiss him softly before leaning back, her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist as they looked at each other.

“You know, I’m not going to pressure you into proposing, but it is going to speed up the process of getting us that family you talked about…” she trailed off, laughing as she saw his expression morph from embarrassment to utter happiness. “And besides, I really want to see the dress and hear the speech Thalia has prepared. We can’t let that go to waste, wouldn’t you say?” she pecked his lips teasingly as he laughed.

“No, we can’t have that, I hear waste is bad.” He pulled her closer, their faces only inches apart, eyes locked as he spoke. “I’m going to marry you, Claire. Soon, I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine. I promise.” They kissed as he finished speaking, heat rising between them, only to be cut short.

“Guys, come on. The baby is watching!”


End file.
